Examining the Link Between Dental Development, BMI and Diet

Hypothesis and Objective: We aim to explore whether macronutrient intake is positively correlated with timing of dental development and, if so, whether this relationship holds true regardless of BMI. Methods: Panoramic radiographs of 9-15.9 YO children (n= 112, 59 males) were used to estimate dental age based on maturity scores of permanent mandibular teeth. BMI values and nutritional data from a validated nutritional questionnaire were recorded. Results: Obese and overweight children showed accelerated dental development relative to normal weight children (1.1 years and 0.6 years respectively; p=0.003), with obese subjects showing the greatest advancement (p=0.001). In terms of nutrition, we found a weak association between dental development and total caloric intake when controlling for age (rho = 0.197; p=0.036). Conclusions: In the current sample, we confirm prior work which has suggested that high BMI children have accelerated dental development. In terms of the relationship between dental development and diet, we see no evidence that a particular macronutrient consumption influences timing of dental development. Our results suggest a weak, positive correlation between total calories consumed and dental development. This is in agreement with prior research by Jääsaari and colleagues (2016) which found that advanced dental maturity was associated with increased energy intake.